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PAGE 3—February 15,1973
Fed. Fund Halt ‘Tragedy’
WASHINGTON (NC) -- Termination
of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 “would
be a tragedy for parochial and private
school children and teachers,” an
official of the National Catholic Library
Association (NCLA) told a House
subcommittee here.
The ESEA of 1965 is due to expire in
June unless extended.
Testifying before the general
subcommittee on education of the
House Committee on Education and
Labor, Benedictine Sister Arline Zurich,
legislative committee chairman of the
NCLA, said that unless Title II of the
ESEA, which provides funds for school
library resources, textbooks and other
instructional materials, “is continued, in
one form or another, children will be
deprived of books for reading and
learning. Schools whose commitment to
decent library services was spurred by
this program will be forced either to
take funds from other critical needs or,
as is more likely, abandon or retrench
their library programs, she said.
This is not an argument of books for
books’ sake,” she said. “Nothing could
be more foolish. The argument is for
educational results -- hard facts which
demonstrate significant improvement in
educational performance.”
Sister Zurick said that in the
elementary and secondary schools
throughout the archdiocese of
Washington that have been participating
in the Title II program and maintaining
financial effort, “the pupils are reaching
a higher level of achievement in the
‘national standards’ test scores in
relation to other schools in the same
area.”
Sister Zurich was testifying in
support of extending the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965,
Title II of that act, she said, “has
proven to be the most effective of all
federal programs for serving private
school pupils with tangible benefits and
with a minimum of effort and red
tape.”
“Beyond requiring that local schools
and school districts maintain their
financial support for library programs,”
she said, “an outstanding feature of
Title II has been the incentive it has
given them to strengthen their
commitment to upgrading the quality of
those programs.”
What Is International
Eucharistic Congress?
BY CARDINAL LAWRENCE SHEHAN
ARCHBISHOP OF BALTIMORE
A Eucharistic Congress is a gathering
of bishops, priests, religious, and laity
for the purpose of deepening
understanding of and devotion to the
Eucharist. An International Congress, as
the name indicates, is such a Congress in
which the clergy and laity of a number
of nations join together for the same
purpose as other Congresses and to
which generally an invitation is
extended to all the faithful of all the
nations of the world to join with the
faithful of the nation or the diocese
which is host to the Congress.
The Congress may be said to have
grown out of a series of pilgrimages to
places where Eucharistic miracles were
commemorated, organized in France by
Marie Marthe Tamisier: Avignon, Ars,
Douai, Paris, Paray-le-Monial. In 1873 at
such a gathering in Paray-le-Monial,
Mile. Tamisier saw some 60 members of
the French Parliament gathered with
other devout faithful, and at that time
she conceived of the possibility of large
public gatherings held on a regular basis.
Members of the French clergy
suggested an International Congress, but
early efforts were unsuccessful. It was
only in 1881 that the first International
Eucharistic Congress was held at the
University of Lille. About 800 persons
were present, coming from Belgium,
England, Spain, France, Holland, and
Switzerland. The Congress received the
approval and blessing of Pope Leo XIII.
At the end of the Lille Congress a
decision was made to form a Permanent
Committee for the Promotion of
International Eucharistic Congresses. At
first, these were held every year, and
most took place in France. Later it was
decided to hold these every two years,
and as their size increased it became
evident that it would be better to hold
them at intervals of four years. With the
exception of the periods of the two
World Wars, they have been held
regularly down to the present.
Although details differ according to
the time and places of the Congress, the
same general pattern prevails. The place
of the Congress is suggested by the
Permanent Committee, but the choice is
actually made by Our Holy Father. The
detailed plan of the Congress is left in
the hands of the bishop of the diocese
of the Congress and his local committee.
The Pope appoints a Papal Legate
(legatus a latere) whose function is to
preside over the Congress in the name of
the Pope.
The Congress opens with the arrival
of the Legate, his reception in a public
ceremony (ordinarily held in the
Cathedral of the Diocese) at which the
Legate generally is expected to give the
principal address. There are various
conferences and seminars, parish
Eucharistic celebrations, religious art,
architecture and cultural exhibits, etc.,
arranged by the local committee. The
Bombay and Bogota Congresses were
highlighted by the arrival of Pope Paul
and the rites of priestly ordination, in
which the Pope was the ordaining
prelate. The climax of the Congress is a
great public Eucharistic Celebration and
Procession to which, in recent years, the
name of Statio Orbis is given, since the
whole Catholic world is invited to join
by means of local Eucharistic
celebrations.
Ordinarily a central theme is chosen
for each International Congress. The
theme of the Melbourne Congress is
“Love one another,” take from Our
Lord’s Commandment to his Apostles at
the Last Supper: “Love one another as I
have loved you.”
No Congress perhaps has been so
carefully planned and prepared as the
coming Congress of Melbourne. A
unique aspect of the Melbourne
Congress is the ecumenical dimension
that Archbishop Knox and his
Committee have given to the plans they
have adopted, and the year-long
preparation they have made with the
cooperation of all the dioceses of
Australia.
N.C.C. Provides Opportunity
Of Controversy and Dialogue
BY KAY LESLIE
(Second of Four Articles)
(NC News Service)
Most Catholics probably have heard
about the National Council of Churches
mostly in connection with some stand it
has taken on a public issue.
Adopting policy statements, however,
is only a part of the work of the
national council, and a small part at
that. Small as it is, though, what the
council says on the moral aspects of any
given issue is inevitably reported in the
press and on television and thus
becomes one of the most controversial
parts of the council’s activity.
These statements, shaped and
adopted by representatives of the NCC’s
member churches, are distributed for
the use of the churches. They are issued
to the press and published as general
information. They are used by council
staff members as guidelines for program
activities, and the council’s office in
Washington, D.C., refers to them in
responding to requests for council views
on the part of Congress and government
agencies.
Now that the question of Catholic
membership in the council is under
consideration, Catholics will want to
know how their Church would be
involved in these policy statements.
Though the council’s policy
statements are available for use by the
churches, they are not at all binding on
member churches. In this respect the
National Council of Churches is to be
distinguished from a Catholic Church
council such as the Second Vatican
Council. When Vatican II’s decrees were
adopted and approved by the Pope,
they became authoritative
pronouncements for Catholics.
Statements by the National Council of
Churches do not carry that authority.
If the Catholic Council joined the
NCC, doubtless there would be
occasions when Catholics would find
themselves in disagreement with
Protestant and Orthodox members.
What would happen then?
First, Catholics would find that there
is already considerable diversity within
the present membership of the council.
Some Protestant and Orthodox
delegates would probably agree with the
Catholic delegates, even as Catholic
delegates would disagree among
themselves on many issues.
Then, Catholics would find that
membership in the council gave them
the opportunity to get their viewpoint
before the whole council while a policy
statement was in process of
formulation, rather than being in the
position of just expressing disagreement
after the position of the council has
already been set.
In this process all parties stand to
gain a deeper appreciation for each
other’s position. And on this point the
joint committee studying possible
Catholic membership in the council
said:
“The discipline of making Roman
Catholic positions plausible to other
Christian groups often leads to greater
precision of theological understanding
by Roman Catholics themselves. It
often gives other Christians a greater
understanding of the rationale behind
the traditional Roman Catholic view
regarding controversial subjects such as
Christian education, abortion and
divorce. We believe it would be a
distinct advantage to all concerned if
the divisive issues could be discussed
ecumenically.”
This committee recommended in its
1971 report that if the Catholic Church
joined the council, it should receive
between one-fifth and one-third votes in
top policy-making bodies. With this
much voting strength, it is unlikely that
Catholics would ever find that a
statement . passed when all Catholic
delegates were opposed.
In the unlikely event that such a
statement was approved, the Catholic
delegates would have the right to ask
that their opposition be recorded and
duly publicized. Furthermore, the
Catholic Church would continue to
issue its own statements on public
questions, as other member churches on
the council do.
But such disagreements would
probably occur only in an extremely
limited number of cases. People who
compare statements of the National
Council of Churches with papal
encyclicals such as Pope John’s Pacem
in Terris or Pope Paul’s Populorum
Progressio find a remarkably large area
of agreement on such issues as peace
and justice for oppressed people.
The NCC and the National
Conference of Catholic Bishops are in
agreement on many issues. Both called
for ending the Vietnam War. Both have
given support to Cesar Chavez and his
effort to improve the condition of farm
workers. Both have called for measures
to aid the poor, the aged, the oppressed.
Critics say the council is “radical” in
its social views. Council officials reply
that the council has frequently
recognized the need for new measures
before the general public became aware
of them.
One example is the change in
American policy toward China. When a
1958 conference sponsored by the
council said that this change was going
to be necessary, many people found the
idea unsettling. Now that President
Nixon and Chairman Mao have shaken
hands and talked together, the idea does
not seem radical at all.
The national council has spoken out
frequently in opposition to
discrimination against blacks and other
groups. Americans now generally agree
that segregation is wrong. But the
council was fighting segregation when it
was still an intensely controversial issue,
and its critics called the council radical
for its views.
EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS: INSIDE - The 40th
International Eucharistic Congress opens Sunday, Feb.
18, in Melbourne, Australia with a Mass at St. Patrick’s
Cathedral (left). A state and civic welcome for
dignitaries and pilgrims will be held Feb. 20 in the
Great Hall of the National Gallery of Victoria (right).
The gallery, which features a stained glass ceiling, will
be the site of art displays for the Congress. (NC Photos
EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS: OUTSIDE ~ Large
crowds expected to attend the Eucharistic Congress
can be accommodated in these two outdoor meeting
places. The shell-shaped Sidney Myer Music Bowl (top)
will be the site of the opening public lecture session
Feb. 19 and the circular Melbourne Cricket Ground
will be the location for closing functions Feb. 25. (NC
Photos)